But when historians take the longer view, 2013 might be remembered first and foremost as the year when Dunkin’ Donuts came right out and launched the donut sandwich, and not to be outdone, Taco Bell shot back with the weapon it is best qualified to wield: The Waffle Taco.

The semi-mythical sandwich was spotted in the wild in California this May, and promptly Instagrammed. Response to the sighting was swift and somewhat predictable: The picture went viral and inspired a constellation of follow-up stories. “I saw this on Good Morning America,” one user later commented on the original image.

The sausage and egg waffle taco spotted back then was an early trial, part of Taco Bell’s plan to take a bigger share of the estimated $42 billion Americans spend on restaurant breakfasts each year, reports Nation’s Restaurant News:

Liz Matthews, Taco Bell’s chief food innovation officer, said the company sees the addition of the breakfast as “a journey” that will take time to get right before being introduced throughout the 6,000-unit system. Breakfast — or “First Meal,” in Taco Bell parlance — will likely play a key role in the Irvine, Calif.-based chain’s ability to achieve its goal of doubling sales from $7 billion to $14 billion over the next decade, she said.

“We’ve been really happy with the performance [of breakfast] so far,” said Matthews, though the company declined to give specifics on sales. “As we go into this test we’re being really open because we’re learning. We’re going to get this right.”

Getting breakfast right is a big deal not just for Taco Bell but also for its parent company, Yum Brands, whose three big restaurant chains — Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and KFC — aren’t exactly known for their appeal first thing in the morning. With all that real estate, equipment and fixed cost sitting around doing nothing for a significant chunk of the day, the company is leaving money on the table — money it thinks things like the Waffle Taco could help it pick up.

The waffle taco was a star during its trial at a handful of California outlets earlier this year, outselling all the other breakfast items the company is testing. Earlier this month, Taco Bell said it would expand its breakfast trial to 100 restaurants. And while the early test waffle tacos were focused on the breakfast menu, it looks like the company has broader ambitions. This week, spottings widened to include an all-day offering:

We’ll see how widely the new products get rolled out — the company has said it plans a wider breakfast rollout in 2014. And it’s worth noting, at this point, that in the world of innovative carbohydrates as sandwich shells, many flowers are currently blooming: Wendy’s has also launched a cheeseburger on a pretzel bun.

Comments (2 of 2)

Why not just serve tacos or standard burritos for breakfast - they are certainly more healthy (think low carbs) than their breakfast alternatives.

6:35 pm August 14, 2013

USC wrote:

That taco bell pictured is probably the worst in the nation. Located next to USC on Figueroa, I've seen everything from burritos where they forgot the meat and won't fix it to two separate incidents of employees walking off the job and not handing me the food I could see under the heat lamps.